Man-made noise disrupts the growth of plants and trees

Man-made noise disrupts the growth of plants and trees

How long before this work generates stories that appear in our Science and Politics section?

It alters birdsong and can make it difficult for some predators to hunt, and now it seems that man-made noise also affects plants.

A US team found that industrial noise disrupted the behaviour of animals that pollinate plants and disperse seeds.

This, they suggest, could be slowly transforming our landscape, especially by changing the dispersal of slow-growing trees.

The study is published in the Royal Society Proceedings B.

They don't seem to have studied structured noise like music.
Nitpick: trees are plants.

So then the primary question becomes:

If a noise falls on a forest, and there is no tree around to take note of it, has it really had an effect?

As you increase the scale of noise from butterfly farts to a full Tunguska event, it is inarguable that a certain level of noise will have at least some influence.

So then the primary question becomes:

If a noise falls on a forest, and there is no tree around to take note of it, has it really had an effect?

As you increase the scale of noise from butterfly farts to a full Tunguska event, it is inarguable that a certain level of noise will have at least some influence.

well, look at the "red forest" right next to that chernobyl reactor 4. What happened there was not the noise, but worse. I think, that forest is happily regrowing. The trees there have not started speaking [echoes of Dante], at least not yet.

I find some of this premise feasible. A lot of seeds are literally transported by animals crapping them out, and animals avoid loud noise.

Not saying I think it's a high environmental priority, but hey, so goes basic research. There's more pressing problems at hand, and we need to admit a certain amount of influence on the environment is the price we pay for our success as a species.

Judging by the number of squirrels, chipmunks, seed-eating small birds and bees who are not afraid of humans but thrive in heavily populated environments with corresponding noises, I would judge this article to be a greenpissing crap. I once had hornets organizing their nest in my wall air conditioner [a noisy environment if any].

Judging by the number of squirrels, chipmunks, seed-eating small birds and bees who are not afraid of humans but thrive in heavily populated environments with corresponding noises, I would judge this article to be a greenpissing crap. I once had hornets organizing their nest in my wall air conditioner [a noisy environment if any].

Well, publish a competing paper, then.